The Way of the Road
by Marcia Brite
Summary: Twitty pulls Louis into something big without telling him anything. Will have Twitty/Louis slash in later chapters. Seventh chapter: Tawny meets Ulovlige *flinch*, there's a meeting, Louis finnaly finds out, and Marcia thanks Ben Murray.
1. Meeting Roxie

Title: The Way of the Road  
  
Title Explanation: Most of the characters you will meet are vagabonds, as will become obvious in coming chapters. Distant, coming chapters. The title will become even more appropriate even later.  
  
Warnings: Slash, cursing (maybe- definatly in later chapters, but I'm not sure I used any in this one), eventual drunkeness, and supernatural killings.  
  
Rating: PG-13, or R  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the cast of Even Stevens, or several other characters who belong to themselves.  
  
A/N: My first Even Stevens fanfic, and probobly my last. If any of my friends found out about they'd laugh me into oblivion, then shoot me for forsaking those I'm sworn to adore.  
  
Chapter One: Meeting Roxie  
  
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Louis said, glancing around, nervously.  
  
Under ordinary circumstances, he wouldn't have said anything, however unerved he might have been by the situation at hand. He would have waited for Twitty to say something.  
  
But, these weren't ordinary circumstances. (They never were, when it came to the people he was unknowingly associated with, but understanding, and explanations were to come later.) They were in a- well- bar, which seemed to be populated completely by people with unnaturally colored hair, dressed in black pants, black boots, and t-shirts endorsing the same two bands, and single solo artist. And, while there was a more or less equal number of males and females, there was clearly only the barest minoritys of heterosexual couples among them. Of course, there were alot of people who didn't seem to be in any sort of couple at all, but it was kind of disconcerting to see so many gay couples so openly together.  
  
Twitty didn't answer. He didn't seem especially uncomfortable, either. He was very activly looking for someone. After a moment, he looked at Louis, in vaugh confusion, and said, "Did you say something?"  
  
Louis sighed. He didn't bother repeating himself. Twitty was clearly in one of those moods, agein. They had once been rather rare, but they were becoming more, and more common. He was about to say he was leaving, when Twitty grabbed his arm, and began dragging him over to where two girls were slow dancing to music only they could hear.  
  
He poked the one with mud green hair, and said, "Sinead, where's Roxie? I need to introduce Louis to her."  
  
Sinead pulled back from the other girl, but kept one arm firmly around her waist, and looked at Louis appraising. It was dark, so he couldn't tell what color her eyes were, but they unnerved him, anyway.  
  
The other girl, with hair so black and free of shine it hurt to look at, looked a bit sulky, and kicked Twitty lightly.  
  
"I think she's calling Murray." Sinead finnaly said. "Don't kick, Rings." she said to the other girl, squeezing her gently, before continuing. "But Kaio's over at the bar with Greg."  
  
"Did Leah go with her?" Twitty asked. Louis suddenly became aware he hadn't released his wrist, though only becouse his grip became painfully tight, with his words.  
  
"No." Rings said. "Her Majesty didn't want any distractions."  
  
"Ringo!" Twitty said, grinning suddenly, his grip on Louis loosening, though remaining to firm to allow him an escape. "You know the only Majesty is Murray himself!"  
  
"Don't let Kaio hear you say that." Sinead said, smirking.  
  
"Magic's one thing." a man with wavy dark blue hair, and sparkling grey eyes said, stepping up to them. "It has it's place in the hearts of us all. But music is what we live for. Aside from eachother. Kaio knows that."  
  
"What the hell're you doing here, Sammy-boy?" Sinead said, her arm tightening around Ringos waist.  
  
"Did you get probation, Sam?" Twitty asked, curiously. "I didn't know you were up for it."  
  
"I wasn't." Sam answered. "Until the real reason I'm here put in a good word, or two. I'm not going to steal Ringo, okay? I gotta go. I see him."  
  
Sam hurried off, in the direction of a man with spikey hair to yellow to be real.  
  
Ringo smiled at Sinead, who grinned back. Sinead began to say something to her, but Twitty dragged Louis away before he could hear it.  
  
"Who are all these people?" Louis asked.  
  
"That was Ringo, and Sinead." Twitty answered. "They're Inners. Don't ask, you'll find out everything soon enough, assuming Roxie likes you."  
  
"Who's Roxie?"  
  
"We have a don't ask, don't tell, don't die policy here. Outsiders don't ask, members don't tell, and no one gets killed."  
  
"What??"  
  
"Shut up, please."  
  
Louis did shut up, then, and, quite suddenly, found himself jammed in what looked like he imagined the confessional booth at a Catholic church to be. It was very small, and his back was pressed up ageinst Twitty in a manner that probobly should have been alot more uncomfortable then it was.  
  
A moment later, he felt Twitty moving, and then they fell backwards. Someone caught Twitty, but Louis tumbled to the ground.  
  
He looked around, and saw a girl with forest green hair gently placing Twitty back on his feet. Twitty smiled breifly at her, then moved around in front of Louis. He gently placed his hands under his arms, and lifted him a bit too abrubtly. Louis didn't get his balance quickly enough, and fell forward, into Twittys arms. Twitty didn't move to release him, so Louis hastily stepped back.  
  
Twitty and the girl, Roxie, in all likelihood, exchanged an unreadable glance.  
  
"Well?" Roxie said. "What've you got for me, today, Twitty?"  
  
"This is Louis." he answered. "I told you about him, remember?"  
  
"At great length." Roxie said, smiling. "Many, many times."  
  
Twitty glared at her, then widened his eyes breifly. Her grin widened, and she changed the subject. "Did you look at that website?"  
  
"I haven't needed it yet."  
  
"I'll let you get away lies, for now."  
  
Twitty rolled his eyes. "Years, Roxie, years. I've told you that, too."  
  
"Many, many times, at great length. Generally when properly sloshed."  
  
"Shut up. What do you think?"  
  
"Any other options?"  
  
"Shut up. Will you?"  
  
"Do you want me to?"  
  
"More then anything."  
  
"It'll only work if it's meant, you know. Otherwise... Well, you know the consequ-ences as well as I do. The only one who knows them better would be Greg."  
  
"Don't talk about that. I was there, remember. I don't like thinking about it."  
  
Louis suddenly became aware the tone of the conversation had shifted somewhere along the way, and they now sounded much more like business associates then friends making fun of one-another as a way of putting off a conversation they really didn't want to have.  
  
"I'm sorry." She sounded genuinely apologetic. "But you have to realize what a risk you're taking, here."  
  
"I know. Will you?" Twitty said, agein.  
  
Roxie sighed deeply, then her face hardened. She drew herself up to her full height, and spread her feet. She crossed her arms over her chest, and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she finnaly said, "Only if you're look me in the eye and tell me what you want from me."  
  
Twitty closed his eyes, and look a deep breath. His eyes opened, and he stared straight into the unreadable lavender depths that awaited his gaze.  
  
"I want you to initiate Louis." he said, firmly.  
  
"Why?" she asked.  
  
"Becouse I know it's true. I also know that, if I'm wrong- which I'm not- I'd be better off with him gone, so I'd be free to find my truth elsewhere."  
  
For a long moment, she studied him. Then, she turned, and caught Louis' eye, startling him. Then, she turned, and looked out a window Louis hadn't noticed before. "Okay." she said. "I think you're right. You have my permission. Change, and the initiation will be the same time it always is."  
  
"When's that?" Twitty asked. Louis got the feeling it was for his benefit.  
  
Roxie looked at him, giving a fanged, rather cat-like grin, and said, "When you least expect it."  
  
~  
  
When Louis and Twitty got out onto the street, several hours had passed, rather then the forty-odd minutes it had felt like. Twitty didn't seem to notice, but it unerved Louis even more.  
  
Twitty stayed in the doorway of the bar, as Louis walked to the middle of the walk way, then turned to look at him.  
  
"Don't tell anyone about this." he said. "If anyone asks when I'm not around, just give some generic party description. Go home, now. It's almost midnight."  
  
Louis blinked at him. "What about you?" he asked.  
  
"I'm staying here a while longer." he answered. "There's some things I need to attend to. Oh, and good luck."  
  
Twitty turned, and walked back into the bar.  
  
Louis stared after him for a long moment. Then, he stepped forward, and pulled on the door. It was locked.  
  
He just stood there for another long moment, then checked his watch, and was startled to see that Twitty have been right. It was eleven-fifty-three. He was supposed to be home by midnight.  
  
Louis turned in the direction of his house, and ran all the way home.  
  
To Be Continued  
  
End A/N: Anybody like this at all? Anyone? 


	2. Marz and Andromeda

Warnings: Nothing, for this chapter. Touch fo cursing from Marz, though.  
  
Rating: For this chapter alone, PG. For the story in general, PG-13, or R.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from the cast of Even Stevens, or anyone who belongs to themselves.  
  
AN: Don't worry about the last scene in this chapter. I just had this mental image of Marz and Andromeda in that position, and I needed to get it out. Their conversation will be partially explained in the next chapter. Oh, yeah, in this story, Louis has his learners permit, and Ren, of course, already had her lisence. That should give you an idea of their ages. Twitty has his lisence, too, though I dought he'll ever use it here, at least.  
  
Chapter Two: Marz and Andromeda  
  
The next morning, when Louis dragged himself into the kitchen, his mom made a rather unpleasant announcement. They needed grocerys, and he was going to go out, and get them. And, as he didn't yet have his license, Ren was going with him.  
  
He was to tired to argue, so his mother left for work a few minutes without incident. It was strange, he thought. He felt as if he had been out partying until midnight, even though he was quite sure he hadn't been at that bar more then forty-five minutes.  
  
He folded his arms on the counter, and lay his head on them. He wondered vaughly what exactly had happened the ngiht before. He remembered it, but he couldn't make heads or tails of any of it. Roxie, and Twitty had conducted whatever business they'd been doing in such a manner that, though he had a feeling it would have a very big impact on him, there was no possible way he could know what they were planning.  
  
Something about Roxie unsettled him, remembering her. It had unsettled him then, too, but not the whole time. Something she did, or said around the end of the meeting bothered him. The whole thing bothered him, but this sensation was knawing at him- he had a feeling it would unlock some door that would let him figure all this out. But what was it?  
  
He groaned softly, and looked up.  
  
"What's wrong with you?" Ren asked. She had come into the kitchen at some point during his ponderings without him noticing.  
  
"Nothing." Louis answered. "Mom said we have to go shopping."  
  
"I know." she said. "She told me last night, while you were out with Twitty. Where did you guys go, anyway?"  
  
"A party." he answered, remembering Twittys instructions.  
  
"How was it?" she asked, out of courtesy. She didn't really care.  
  
"I dunno. More or less generic. The music was kind of odd, though." That was true- though it fit into vaugh genres, he'd never heard anything quite like it.  
  
"What was it?"  
  
"I dunno."  
  
~  
  
By the time they got to grocery store, Louis would have welcomed death with arms open wide. His head was pounding worse then ever, thanks to his thinking to hard about what bothered him about Roxie, and he was, honestly, to tired to think anymore.  
  
Ren didn't seem to notice, as they wandered in, and Louis was to far gone to think of informing her of his condition.  
  
Standing in the produce section, Louis leaned on the cart, waiting for Ren to finish getting whatever was on the list their mom had given her. That's when he heard it.  
  
"Hey! Louis!" The voice was high, and feminine, and had a slight squeak to it.  
  
He looked around, slowly. He blinked when he saw a very small girl with neon green eyes, and electric purple hair pulled back in a braid that reached her waist. She was probobly close to his age, give or take a year, or two, with a very nice body, but she was so small- four foot-seven, or so- it was difficult to tell at first glance.  
  
"I'm Andromeda." she said. "I just wanted to wish you good luck."  
  
"With what?" he glanced at her shirt. It was the same shirt he'd seen on Ringo the night before. It was white, with a picture of four men holding another, smaller (rather Asian-looking) man on their shoulders.  
  
"With Roxie." she explained. "I can't say much, but good luck, anyway."  
  
"Andromeda!" a voice called.  
  
She ignored it, and continued, "Good luck with Twitty, too. And don't worry- it'll work, otherwise several things that I can't say would have happened already."  
  
"Andromeda!" the voice said, agein, more insistantly. Suddenly, a boy about her size, and age with shoulder-length bright green hair cut very much like Sailor Saturn, and bright magenta eyes, appeared around a shelf of chocolate. "What're you doing, Meda`?" he asked, walked closer until he was right next to her.  
  
He looked at Louis, looked alarmed for a moment, then sighed in frustration. "What's to stop me from telling Kaio about this?"  
  
"That fact you love me."  
  
"Oh, whatever." He sighed, and adressed Louis. "I'm sorry about her. We're supposed to be watching eachother. I'm Marz. I suppose you didn't see us last night, but we were sitting on the chandeleir in Roxies room."  
  
"Why?" Louis couldn't help but wonder what they were doing sitting on a light fixture, listening to what he'd taken to be a rather private conversation. He was beginning to get the feeling it was only private where he was concerned.  
  
"We were bored." Andromeda answered, shrugging. "Shit, I think I hear Kaio."  
  
Marz nodded, listening as well. He grabbed her hand, and dragged her off, back around the shelf from wence he came.  
  
"Who were they?" Ren asked. She'd come up behind Louis without his noticing. As she placed the bags of fruit and vegetables in the cart, she gave him a questioning look.  
  
"I dunno." he answered. "I guess they were at the party last night. They were just wishing me luck. One of the girls there, Roxie, is wondering if I'm worthy of being her friend, or something like that."  
  
"Roxie?" Ren asked. "You mean Roxie Kendall? The lesbian that's always making out with her girlfriend at the park?"  
  
"I dunno." Louis answered.  
  
"Did she have green hair?"  
  
"Yeah, I think so."  
  
"That's her. Did you meet her girlfriend, Leah? I've talked to her, and she's pretty nice..."  
  
"I dunno."  
  
Ren sighed, figuring she wasn't going to get anything more informative out of him- 'I dunno' had become his favorite phrase, as it often did when he was to tired to think.  
  
~  
  
A few hours later, Marz and Andromeda crouched in a corner of the club that they barely fit it. Andromeda was slowly sloshing a potion around in the shapely green bottle, while Marz leaned over her, his chin on her shoulder. One arm was wrapped around her back, and, for lack of anything better to do with the other, it was wrapped the front of her waist.  
  
"You think it'll work, Dro-chan?" Marz asked.  
  
"If it doesn't not only are we screwed, Sam's going to have a hissy fit of Pythonian proportions." she replied.  
  
"Damn. Sounds like a rather large risk."  
  
"Of course it is." She grinned. "That's half the fun. And, anyway, it'll work. You know it'll work. It always works for Annie and Reno, doesn't it?  
  
"Yeah, well. They have signifiicantly better luck with /everything/ then we do. Hadn't you noticed that?"  
  
"We have to trust Twitty, both for out sakes, and for Tom's sake. Oh, yeah. And Twitty will murder us if it doesn't work."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"He's Tom's friend, right?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. So who're we throwing him at, agein."  
  
"That queen from the block."  
  
"/That/ bitch? I knew you didn't like him, but let's not go that far."  
  
"Not him, the other one. You know, the one who bears a shocking psycological resembalence to the spree murderer with the girlfriend?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. Him. I thought he was all over his head henchman."  
  
"We can fix that."  
  
"Oh."  
  
To Be Continued  
  
End AN: I love Marz and Andromeda. I don't know why, I just do. That you, kellyerielf, for my only reveiw, and my first positive reveiw on this site for a very long time. Slash won't appear in the next chapter, but I expect the beginnings in the one after that. 


	3. Meetings

I'm putting the ratings and crap at the bottom.  
  
Chapter Three: Meetings  
  
While Marz and Andromeda were talking to Louis, Twitty was talking to someone from the bar, as well. And, like Marz and Andromeda, Louis hadn't seen her becouse she was hiding in a light fixture.  
  
Sort of. She'd been hiding behind a light fixture, playing with her kittens.  
  
"What've you got for me, Twitty?" Annie asked, as she handed one of said kittens to him.  
  
He took the little kitten, and looked at it, adoring it. She was a girl, he knew- all four of the kittens had been- and she was named Steve-Dave. Then, he looked at Annie.  
  
She, like all of them, was pale, with unnaturally colored hair. It was black, streaked different shades fo pink, and looked very cool. Her eyes were midnight blue, and had stars in them, reflecting her status as a Dreamer.  
  
Twitty placed the kitten in his lap as he sat down next to her, on the second to top row of the bleachers, being careful not to step on any of the other three kittens, and stroked Steve-Dave gently.  
  
"Roxie said yes to Louis." he answered.  
  
"Surprise, surprise. Get on with it."  
  
"I haven't Changed him yet."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I haven't gotten a chance."  
  
Annie rolled her eyes. "You know the Actors motto better then I do, Twitty." she said, smiling suddenly as the smallest kitten, Clayton, dug her claws into the ankle-length suede khaki skirt Annie was wearing, and began climbing.  
  
"Yeah, yeah." he answered, watching the little white baby make her way slowly tword its destintion in Annies lap.  
  
"If there is a way, find it." Annie began.  
  
"And if there's not one, make one." he finished. "I know. Have you heard anything from Reno on your project?"  
  
"Yeah." she replied, blushing faintly. Even the slightest blush showed up impressivly on her paler-then-death skin. "She sent me an e-mail. Things are going better then planned, and we need to get the potion over there sometime in the next three weeks." She gave him a pointed look, as she began stroking Clayton gently.  
  
"I can do that." he said. "Gimme two days to do a bit of B n' E, then another day to make the stuff, and I'll have it."  
  
"You told me you'd already made it." she said, looking alarmed. She hated Twittys methods of getting what he needed for his potions, and liked to avoid letting him loose in the caves whenever possible.  
  
"You two aren't the only ones who use that crap, you know." he said. "Marz and Andromeda are the only Dreamers who don't."  
  
"Ghost and Shadow use it?" she inquired.  
  
"They switched a couple months ago." he answered. "Said is was more convenient, and that their old Provider for what they needed for the rites drained one of the Affl-icted by accident."  
  
"That wouldn't kill her?" Annie was alarmed by this thought. She knew the Provider Ghost and Shadow had used. She had taken on the role of Ghosts protector shortly after he was Turned, and was one of the Elders.  
  
"I dunno." he answered. "As much as I'd like to think so, we aren't invulnerable. She hasn't died yet, if she's going to. It's just made her decide to be more careful, and she thinks she's getting to old to be a Provider anymore, anyway." He bit his lip, and glanced quickly at his watch. "I gotta go. Gotta meet Roxie." He handed Steve-Dave back to Annie. She placed her, and Clayton on the floor on the floor, and smiled at him.  
  
They finished their business, and Twitty left, refreshed.  
  
"Where've you been?" Roxie asked. "You're late."  
  
"By thirty seconds." Twitty answered. "I had some business with Annie."  
  
"I'm guessing you need permission to do some B and E, right?"  
  
"I will, anyway, so why not?"  
  
"Goddess, Alan, you have no respect for your superiors." She shook her head in pseudo-disgust. "Have you Changed him, yet?"  
  
"No." Twitty glanced at the ceiling, his cheeks staining themselves pink. "I haven't gotten a chance."  
  
"Liar. Anyway, we need to hurry a bit. Are you ready? We've only got a couple of weeks, you know."  
  
"Yeah, I know."  
  
"You better turn him while you've still got a chance. Otherwise, he'll be a lovely target for those mangy, mug-loving, sons of bitches from the other side of the Wall."  
  
"Okay!" Twitty exclaimed. "You've made your goddamned point. I've got some business today, so I'll change him first chance I get, then I'll leave him with Kassandra for a crash-course in the basics."  
  
"Why Kassandra?"  
  
"She owes me a favor. I have to go now. Lots of B and E, and several other things."  
  
"Such as."  
  
Twitty gave her a serene smile. "I'm /hungry/." he replied. Then, he was gone.  
  
Roxie grinned. It was very much the same grin she'd flashed the night before, as it was supposed to be. This time, however, her fangs were more noticable then ever.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
Warnings: Obscene cuteness, though only if you can picture the kittens in question, as well as veiled mentions of slash. Don't think there's any cursing, but I don't really notice, so there might be.  
  
Rating: This one would be G, were it not for blink-and-you'll-miss-it slash referances, and equally vaugh mentions of the consumptions of the blood of others. For all that, it only gets a PG.  
  
A/N: You guys got what B and E is, right? For those who didn't, they just don't like saying 'breaking and entering', because it sounds morally wrong. Which it is, but who cares? Anybody reading this who hasn't reveiwed? If so, I don't feel particularly loves, and three words won't kill you. That goes for those of you who HAVE reveiwed, as well.  
  
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to my friend Alice, who just about found me out, but didn't. I hope she doesn't read this. 


	4. The Dionysian Vampire Ring

Warnings: Mentions of blood-drinking, might be cursing, sort-of character death, and slash beginnings.  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Chapter Four: The Dionysian Vampire Ring  
  
Louis woke with a start. It had been a month sence the party, and exactly four weeks sence Twitty had approached him, requesting a private word. Louis, slightly puzzled but not at all suspicious, had followed his friend into the boys bathroom, and into the handicap stall, which the blonde promptly locked. What had happened next had been the single most terrifying experience of his nearly seventeen years.  
  
~Flashback~  
  
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Louis asked, quietly, after nearly ten minutes of silence in which Twitty had lay his forehead ageinst the door, unmoving, an eerily silent. It was as if even his breathing had stilled.  
  
"Just a second." Twitty had replied. "I'm smelling. Hang on."  
  
Louis raised his eyebrows, and waited. He was about to say that they had to be in class soon, when Twitty turned around. Louis's eyes widened.  
  
In that instant- no flashing special effects, no sudden bursts of light, no nothing. Just Twitty- except his eyes had darkened several shades, and his hair had suddenly changed colors. It was lavender, now. Pale lavender, and it had grown about three inches.  
  
Before Louis could process what he had just seen, before he could react in any way, he was in Twittys arms. He could feel the other boys body, and he knew it was him, but there was something- off about it. He felt something hard, and smooth brush his throat.  
  
He put two and two together in an instant, coming up with a glorious, blood-stained four, but it was already to late.  
  
The fangs, razor-sharp, and curved like hooks, were sinking into the soft, tender flesh over his carotid artery*. Louis gasped as he felt them penetrate him, and, then, when his shock faded, he wondered why this felt so nice.  
  
Surly having your blood taken by sure means wasn't supposed to be like this? It was supposed to hurt. So why did he feel himself sighing softly? Why were his eyes slipping closed, and his body sinking deeper into Twitty's arms?  
  
Only on the most basic level did Louis register Twittys hand rise, to hold his head up.  
  
It's getting warmer, something in his clouded mind said. That's what was off before. He was so COLD. Why didn't you ever notice that before?  
  
Louis didn't reply to the voice, and banished it to someone who cared. Before it left, the voice told him he should pull away, because soon Twitty would surly kill him. But, by the time the logic behind that thought reached him, he had already blacked out.  
  
~End Flashback~  
  
He hadn't died, though. He had been remade, but he hadn't died. Or perhaps he had died, if for just an hour, or two, while Roxie, and all the others made him a new body, tapping into his mind to see what he wanted it to be like.  
  
He wasn't entirely used to his new look. His hair was still as curly as it had been, but the curls were sleeker, and fell neatly to his shoulders. It had turned a sort of beige-green that should have been alot uglier then it was. His eyes remained more or less the same when you were looking at them, but his vision had improved. He was also infinatly paler then he had been.  
  
Of course, he couldn't go around like that all the time, so he'd been taught to revert back to his old appearance at will. Twitty had explained it to him, what had happened, as Louis cried into his chest. He hadn't been sure why he was crying- only that he felt as though he'd left a part of himself behind. Louis was comforted as he remembered his friends words.  
  
"You're still you. You feel lost becouse your body doesn't know what's happened to you, why you have all these new instincts to respond to. You're not human anymore. Roxie, and all the others- we've changed you- modified your body. You're a new species. A completely different race- one that will outlast the humans. But, don't be sad. It's hard at first- I know it is- but you aren't alone. You've got me, and you've got Roxie, and you've got all of us. You'll only be alone if you want to be. And I don't think you want to be."  
  
Louis sighted softly. He looked down at his hands. One of the more subtle changes to his appearance- invisible, unless you were looking hard- was the way the edges of his finger and toenails had become razor sharp. It did murder to his socks, but he couldn't care.  
  
He looked around, slowly. He wasn't at home- he hadn't been home sence he'd been Changed, but, for some reason, no one had come looking for him. He suspected it had something to do with Roxie, but he couldn't find it within himself to care.  
  
Until they figured out what to do with him, he was staying in the infirmary. The elderly woman in the bed next to him talked to him, when she was awake, but for the most part he was alone. So far, what she'd told him had helped him try to peice together every-thing that had happened to him.  
  
She told him that Twitty's real name was not Alan Twitty- his original name had been Allen (he changed the spelling so it wouldn't be as geeky) Preener. Twitty was the original last name of his Helper, so he'd taken the name out of gratitude for her, and thus was his official name. He'd known he'd encounter skepticism if he told people that, so he combined his original first name (changed spelling for previously stated reasons) with his real name, so he could continue using it.  
  
From what Louis could understand, a Helper was someone who searched for the natural borns (he couldn't bring himself to use the word 'vampire' in relation to himself yet) and helped them harness their power. Twitty had been natural born, roughly seventy-five years ago. That was one of the more difficult concepts to grasp, his friend being in his seventies. When he mentioned it to the woman- Mizza- she'd said he didn't need to grasp it, and he was still a child, by their terms. She then told him that she would be five-hundred-forty-six in the coming winter.  
  
Twitty had become an Actor, meaning he went out into the world of mortals, and kept the others posted on everything that happened. The title also meant he had to help the other ranks- Dreamers, Seers, ect.- do whatever needed done. Mizza had been intentionally vague on what these things were, and just how Actors like Twitty were supposed to help.  
  
There were only a few Actors in the Dionysian Ring- the group they were a part of. There was Twitty and now Louis- they had to work in pairs, when it was made possible, and generally the pairs were romantically involved- Marz and Andromeda (who were an exception to the rule, and actually natural-born twins), and Sam and the blonde boy he'd gone to meet, who, Louis learned, was called Helios. There was also another pair who was 'away on business'. They were one of the few heterosexual couples, and their names were Venus, and Nothing.  
  
Roxie, Mizza had said, was an Inner, as well as the head of the Dionysian Ring. There were even fewer Inners. As the title implied, they were the very center of the Ring, and knew all of the inner workings. Every non-standard action had to be run by Roxie, or one of the other Inners.  
  
All of the groups, it turned out, worked in pair, including the Inners. Even though Roxie was head of the Ring, her partners name was Leah. The other Inners were Roxie and Sinead, and two boys named Djinn and Sheedem.  
  
Then, there was the whole seemingly backwards homosexual-heterosexual ratio. Mizza had shrugged, seeming some-what bemused, and told him she had no idea, then said something that kind of made sence, if you thought about it hard enough.  
  
"Men and woman don't think the same. You should know that, however young you are. It's always made more sence- to me, at least- to fall for someone who thinks like you. But humans have to mate to reproduce, so they've adapted to fall for those who can give them children, and, eventually, it became the norm. We don't have to mate for reproduction, so our breed hasn't made such adaptions."  
  
After a long while, Louis' thoughts were interrupted by Twitty and Roxie walking in, talking very fast about him. They stopped a few feet from his bed, and he listened to them.  
  
"I'm an Actor, right?" Twitty asked. "Thus, he is, too. Thus, he stays in the Actor chambers, with me, and the others."  
  
"Have you two Bonded?" Roxie asked.  
  
Twitty faded into an embarrassed silence, and didn't answer.  
  
"No Bonding, no moving." she said, smiling. "At least not into the Actor chambers. I'm going to bunk him in the old concubine chambers behind the Inner's wing."  
  
Twitty made a face which looked suspiciously like a pout, but didn't say anything.  
  
"Damnit." he grumbled, when it had no effect on her, except to make her smile wider. He glanced at Louis out of the corner of his eye, then said, "Can we have a bit of privacy? I'd like to talk to Louis."  
  
Roxie grinned, and was gone.  
  
Twitty sighed deeply, and looked at Louis helplessly. He sat down on the edge of his friends bed, rather closer to him then was probobly nessicary, and folded one leg beneath him, so he could face him.  
  
"Sorry." he said. "I'm trying to get you out of here- I have been sence you got here- but it's not working. I dunno why Roxie's being so damned stubborn." He glared at nothing out of the corner of his eye.  
  
Louis didn't answer. He wasn't particularly comfortable with Twitty, partly because he was always in his 'natural' form, and partly because he had, put bluntly, bitten his neck open, and turned him into a vampire, all without a word of warning.  
  
Twitty, as if reading his friends mind, reached out, and took his hands, one in each of his own, and held them, wrapping his around Louis' fingers. Louis involuntarily gripped his hands- he surprised himself with his desire to have physical sort-of-human contact, agein. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed it sence last time Twitty had been to see him.**  
  
"Look," he said. "I don't expect you to accept all this over-night. It takes a very long time to get used to. I don't expect you to forgive me over-night. I know what I did probobly strikes you as, at the very least, immoral. But, I have to tell you this. It's a Mystery, yes, and I know I shouldn't be telling you. But, as I said, I have to. This couldn't have happened if it hadn't been meant to. It's destiny. Do you want to be dragged into your destiny, kicking and screaming, or are you going to meet it, and save yourself your dignity, time, effort, and alot of heartache?"  
  
Twitty lifted his left hand, and kissed his knuckles gently. A chill went down Louis' spine, as his friend continued.  
  
"Also, I want you to keep this in mind." he said, not looking up, his lips hovering mere centimeters from his hand. "No matter what, I'm still me. I've always been this way- it's not any new development, and it doesn't change who I am. It just means you have to expand your definition of who I am. I'm your friend, Louis. You know I am. I'm not any less your friend now then I was a month ago, or even ten days ago. And, because I'm your friend, I hope- I'd pray, if I thought it would do any good- but I hope with all my heart you can forgive me. If not now, then, when someday comes, I hope you'll fogive me. "  
  
Twitty lifted his other hand, and kissed its knuckles, as well.  
  
"You'll never know how much I want your forgiveness."  
  
Louis didn't answer. He tugged his hands out of Twittys grip, and reached out, slipping his arms around his friends neck. He pulled him into a tight hug, and buried his face in his shoulder.  
  
Twitty sighed softly. It wasn't frustration, or contentment- it held no emotion, at all- it was simply a sigh, letting Louis know Twitty didn't mind if he clutched him like this, agein. It seemed that every time Twitty came to speak to him, Louis more or less jumped on him.  
  
"Louis?" Twitty said, after a long moment. He disentangled himself from his friend, and said, "I wish you'd stop doing this to me."  
  
No response. Louis had barely spoken to Twitty sence the first day he'd awoken in the infirmary- he's enjoyed his company, and Twitty knew it, but he'd enjoyed it in silence. Another sigh, this one sad, and a bit irritatted.  
  
"I've gotta go." he said. "Me and Annie have to go meet Reno. She's completed her mission, though the results weren't quite what she imagined. I'll bring GG to you once we finish our business."  
  
He disentangled himself from Louis, and rose. Louis looked up at him, a slight pout on his lips. He wasn't quite sure exactly /why/ he was pouting, just that it seemed like a good thing to do.  
  
Twitty gave a half-smile, then turned, and swept out of the infirmary, the full-length black leather trench coat he hadn't been wearing billowing behind him.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
A/N: Well, how was that? I'm considering making them kiss in the next chapter, though maybe not. Next, Annie is going to show Louis around the HQ, and more will be found out about the Dionysian ring. Oh, yeah. GG is another one of Annie's kittens, and has taken a liking to Louis through an encounter that will also be discussed in the discussed in te next chapter.  
  
Explantion: I did this chapter like this, rather then by just going a chapter about Twitty changing him because I already the bite scene typed out (that was the first thing I wrote for this story) and there wasn't much else I could have added to it. I figured that would have been way to short. Also, I think that leads into the chapter better then him waking up, and just going into talking to Mizza. That would seem kind of awkward, at least to me.  
  
Second A/N: Alan Twitty /is/ supposed to be his full name, right? I haven't watched as Even Stevens as I probably should have before writing this- about three weeks of episodes, and I had the movie forced on me three and a half times, then I watched it of my free will a few more, simply because the cable system at the beach sucked, which is what drew me in, in the first place.  
  
Dedication: This chapter is for Noel, who didn't laugh at me, and Alice, who was sitting next to me trying to make conversation throughout the writing of the middle third of this chapter. I checked on my reveiws while they were at my house, one thing led to another, and I've been outed to them. -_-;;; That was at two in the morning, so the moment it hits Noel what she saw, I'll be getting a phone call. Wish me luck.  
  
*Though vampires traditionally feed off of the jugular artery, carotid arterys seem, to me, to be a more likely choice, as they carry blood with more nutrients, and oxygen, while jugular arterys have used-up blood being taken back to the heart. There's also less chance of mess, because the walls of carotids arterys aren't as difficult to peirce, and aren't as high-pressure as jugular arterys. I've been reading more vampire books then is strictly nessicary, one of which is called The Science of Vampires, and discussed this factor. That's probobly why I decided to write this.  
  
** Twitty had come to see him every day at first, but Louis hadn't seen him in over a week, at this point. 


	5. Gemini

Corrections: I screwed up in the last chapter. I listed Roxie as an Inner twice, once with Leah, and once with Sinead. I meant Ringo and Sinead.  
  
Warnings: Slash, cursing, mentions of rape, mention of nudity,  
  
Chapter Five: Gemini  
  
Marz groaned softly, and rolled over on his back. "Jesus, Andro." he grumbled. "Are you /finished/?"  
  
"Just a minute, just a minute." his twin shot back. "I'm almost done. And will you please stay still? You're making the bed shake."  
  
Marz rolled over on his stomach, going tword her, in response. He grabbed his pillow, and folded it under his head, winding his thin arms around it. He gave her a lop-sided grin. "No." he answered, brightly.  
  
Andromeda glared at him sharply, but her expression softened instantly. She stretched her legs out, and cross her ankels.  
  
"Did you finish with the Familial Charms?" she asked, as she reached for her crystal goblet of sweetened red wine. She eyed him over the rim, as she sipped from the glass.  
  
He returned her gaze, and waited until she had placed the wine back on her bed-side table so reply. "I stopped off when I left the house last, and finished." he said, very deliberating forcing any trace of emotion from his voice, and expression, though he knew it wouldn't matter, with Andromeda. They could very nearly read eachothers minds the majority of the time. The only exception was when they actually /could/.  
  
"Good."  
  
"Why are you so bloody insistant we help with all this, anyway?" he asked, the thought striking him for the first time. "It's not our case. He can handle it."  
  
"Maybe." was the response. "But I like helping."  
  
"We have our /own/ jobs, Dro-chan."  
  
"Nothing pressing. Half of them won't become crucial until the next election, another quarter are just observation and raids, half of the remaining ones won't become crucial, and all but one of the rest are just assistance cases."  
  
"What's the last one? I wasn't aware we had any cruicals."  
  
"I just got the memo today. Angel and Muse had an argument. We start tomarrow."  
  
"What over this time?"  
  
"It's complicated."  
  
"Isn't it always? Give me the memo."  
  
There was a breif shuffleing of papers as Andromeda sorted through her blue plastic folder to find the requested document. As she handed it to her twin, he asked another question. "Why do /we/ always get stuck cleaning up after them? Isn't there someone else who can do this?"  
  
"It's Actor work, Marzy." she answered.  
  
"We aren't the only Actors." he shot back.  
  
Andromeda sighed in long-suffering manner. "We're the only ones familiar enough with the case." she explained, patiently. "Besides, no one else could take it, at this point. Twitty's too wrapped up in his own case- besides, his partner can't even be described as being wet behind the ears yet. And Venus and Nothing have issues with Sydney, remember?"  
  
"What about Sam and Helios?"  
  
"They have their cases from Apollonia. Besides, can you see Helios helping someone as -well- angelic as Angel get back together with somone as flat-out hot as Muse?"  
  
"If Sam were naked the whole time."  
  
Andromeda dropped her head, and didn't answer, simply reaching for her wine glass in frustration. Marz grinned at her.  
  
~  
  
The next day, Twitty banged loudly on the door of their room. Without waiting for a response, he threw the door open, and, slamming it behind him, threw himself onto the blue suede chaise in the corner nearest the bed.  
  
Neither of the twins had moved all the much in the past twenty-four hours, remaining on their bed, though Marz had crawled up to Andromeda, and lay his head on her shoulder, leaning ageinst her. She had wound one arm around him, and let him fall asleep on her. Now he was awake, but hadn't moved, simply because he was comfortable.  
  
"Good morning, sunshine." Andromeda said.  
  
"You look happy." Marz added.  
  
"Things with Louis-"  
  
"-not going well?"  
  
"How do you do that?" Twitty asked, not bothering to specify if he meant finishing each-others sentaces without missing a beat, or reading his mind, simply because he meant both.  
  
"It's a twin thing." Marz said, shrugging. "As for the Louis situation-"  
  
"It's more then a little obvious." Andromeda finished, laying her papers next to the wine glass.  
  
"Well?" her twin added.  
  
"He's driving me nuts." Twitty said. "I told you about how he hugs me every time I see him, and it's driving me crazy. I mean, do you have any idea how frustrating this is? To be able to touch him, but it not mean anything?"  
  
"Imagine not even being able to touch him- comfort him." Andromeda said. "Imagine him tensing every time you get within arms reach. Imagine knowing he loves you, and wants you to touch him, but he can't let you."  
  
Twitty stared at her. What was so amazing about her words wasn't their content- though it got through to him- but that Marz hadn't taken up her words once. In fact, he realized, Marz had rolled over on his side, and curled up as close to his twin as he could, half-burying his face in the side of her breast. Twitty could still see one magenta eye glittering with what looked alarmingly like tears.  
  
The atmosphere in the room had changed completely, and it seemed /wrong/. The twins always seemed half-drunk, but now Andromeda looked at him with an age-old pain in her eyes, and Marz stared at nothing through liquid crystal-coated eyes.  
  
Then, the moment broke, as Marz regained control of himself, and said, "Did you say something to him?" Though his voice lacked its usual happiness, he didn't sound sad- he sounded gaurded.  
  
"I told him I wished he would stop."  
  
"I wish you would stop doing this to me?" Andromeda asked. "That may well do something for you. It's worked before."  
  
Inadvertantly, the twins grips on eachother tightened, and Twitty decided he didn't want to know.  
  
"Don't you have a meeting with Annie and Reno?" Andromeda asked. She'd begun stroking her brothers hair gently, seeming focused on him.  
  
"Yeah. I better go." Twitty understood her unsaid words.  
  
~We need some privacy, if you don't mind.~  
  
As he stepped out, Marz called after him. "Good luck. I hope he's more responsice then me."  
  
Twitty looked back at him, confused. Marz burrowed deeper into his twins embrace, and began sobbing softly. Andromeda looked at Twitty for a just a moment. Just long enough to smile through her tears.  
  
Twitty watched as Andromeda slid down, and they wrapped themselves around eachother, until he couldn't tell where one began, and the other ended. He turned, and left, listening to their sobs melding into one voice even after he was a mile away.  
  
~  
  
As Twitty approached the tree in the park where he had to meet Reno and Annie, he was releived to see only the former had yet arrived. She had been around longer then either him, or her lover, so he figured she'd know what had gone on with the twins.  
  
Reno was only an inch shorter then him, and had long, shimmering grey-green hair, and eyes only a few shades darker, flecked with navy. Like all of them, she was pale, though her coloring showed up more then ever, today, next to her black cordoroy skort, long-sleeved black shirt, and black leather boots.  
  
She smiled crookedly at him, and rose to meet him. They hugged breifly, and exchanged greetings. Once they were seated at the base of the tree, Reno, showing typical World Dreamer form, said, "I suppose there's a reason you're lost in the Black Land* of your free will."  
  
"I was talking to Marz and Andro` before I came." he began. Before he could go on, she interrupted him.  
  
"I know what you're going to say." she said. "And it's none of your damned business, but I'll tell you what half the grotto already knows.  
  
"Back in the late during Beatlemania, the twins were right in the middle of it, clinging to eachother- in more then one since- trying to figure out why the world was going crazy over their friends from Liverpool. Yes, the twins knew the Beatles before they became famous.  
  
"But, anyway, they went to a concert, and were walking home after-words, when Marz ducked into an alley to throw up. He'd eaten something bad, and had been puking his guts out all day, even though he hadn't eaten a single thing. He came out a few minutes later, and told Andromeda he'd be a while, and to head on to their flat, at the time, and he'd meet her later. Ordinarly, she wouldn't have left, but she was tired, and didn't feel so well herself, so she did as he said.  
  
"When she was about half-way there- it was a pretty long way, and they didn't have much money, so it was something like a half hour- she suddenly got a bad feeling. Not the kind of bad feeling that comes from paranoia. The kind of bad feeling that comes when the other half of your soul is in danger.  
  
"She froze, and just stood there for a minute, before she got a really bad pain in her ass. That's an understatement, of course. She dropped where she stood, and couldn't move. It was over an hours before it subsided enough for her to start going back to where she'd left Marz.  
  
"When she got there, he was laying on the ground, not unconcious, but nearly. She went to him, of course, and she knew what had happened- she could feel it herself- so she sent a Code Aqua out. I was the first one there, along with Annie, of course, so me and Andromeda took him back, while Annie waited for anyone else to show up."  
  
She stopped there, and looked at him appraisingly. "I don't suppose I have to tell you what had happened?"  
  
"I can guess." Twitty murmered.  
  
"After that," Reno continued. "He wouldn't let anyone touch him- not even Meda`- for at least three years. You showed up a couple years after he started opening back up, and he was almost back to his old self. That's how the twins became asexual. Neither of them were keen to get involved with anyone, after that."  
  
"I can imagine." he said, softly. "Wow. I never knew."  
  
"They don't like talking about it." Reno replied. "I mean, it's not something you say when you're introducing yourself to someone- 'I'm Andromeda, and this is my twin brother Marz, who was raped more then forty years ago.'- and you don't really bring it up in conversation, either. They've buried it, and moved on, and they want to leave it that way." She looked around, then added, "Where the hell is Annie?"  
  
~  
  
Annie slipped into the infirmary, knowing quite well she had to meet Twitty and Reno, and not giving a damn. Roxie had given her instructions to show Louis around, and that's what she was going to do, and if they couldn't handle that, fuck them.  
  
Annie went to Louis' bed, and squatted next to it like a frog. She stared up at him, completely ignoring the strang look he was giving her, then said, "I bid you a good morning."  
  
"Annie, what're you doing?" he asked. "It's three in the afternoon. It's not morning."  
  
"Who cares?" she asked. "Get up. Roxie told me to show you around, and explain some things to you."  
  
~  
  
What happened next was a whirlwind of information, color, and the noise of laughter, song, speech, and the far-off sounds of sex.  
  
Louis learned far more then he'd ever wanted to know about the Rings history, as well as more of what he'd already been told.  
  
He learned that the Dionysian Ring used to be about half the size it was presently, but the Apollonian Ring had been attacked, and disbanded about ten years before. Sam and Helios were originally from the Apollonian Ring, as were Ringo and Sinead.  
  
Seers, he learned, weren't so much a rank of their own, as assistants to the Actors and Dreamers, though they were technically higher up, status-wise. Most of the Seers, however, had gone to help suring the Apollonian attack, and been killed, so the only ones left were Gaia and Nothing, a heterosexual couple. More of them were being begged off of the Aphroditian Ring, which had more Seers then Actors.  
  
Dreamers, meanwhile, were a bit like Actors, but they worked with people inside the dreams, and fantasys of others. There were alot of them, though they were mostly freelance, and very few worked in the Rings. There were two different groups of them- some, like Annie and Reno, were Universal Dreamers, meaning they went to small altrenate realities (Reno works the feild (World Dreamer) Annie acts as a link between the two universes (Home Dreamer)) to work, while others are Muse Dreamers, meaning they hang around in peoples heads, inspiring them. Annie works as a Muse as well, when Reno's on an extended mission, and doesn't need to go back and forth much.  
  
Helpers, as he already knew, wandered the earth, looking for natural borns, and bringing them into their Rings. He was a bit surprised to find out that Helpers, unlike all the other ranks, didn't all work in pairs. Some did, a few in trios, but mostly they worked solo.  
  
~  
  
Louis also received the grand tour. Annie led him into the dining hall, where they were quickly approached by a girl in a Japanese school uniform with green eyes, unnaturally thick blue-black hair cut severly across her shoulders. One of her eyes had a film over it, and there was a raw pink scar that cut in a curve coming out of her hair in the middle of her forehead, and moving in a ragged line around her eye, acrodd her cheek, and back under her hair above her temple.  
  
"You're Louis, right?" she said. "I'm Gaia." She looked at Annie. "I heard you'd be bringing him through today. I wish you'd waited until tomarrow."  
  
"Why?" Annie asked.  
  
"Cause` Nothing works today, and tomarrows my shift. He wanted to meet him."  
  
"What for?"  
  
"Bastard wants to do a reading. Says he had a feeling."  
  
"He has 'feelings' about everyone."  
  
"Well, still, he won't shut up until he meets him. Do you have /any/ idea what effect that has on our sex life?"  
  
"I can't even imagine."  
  
Gaia was about to speak agein, when a boy in an outfit (if you can call it that) made entirely of black fishnet and small squares of black leather with short, neon purple hair, and eyes to match- though a bit lighter- ran up.  
  
"Ga--ia!" he crooned, grabbing one of her hands in both of his. "We're wai--ting for yo--u."  
  
She grinned at him. "Coming."  
  
With a quick wave to Louis and Annie, she let herself be dragged off.  
  
"Who the shit was that?" he asked, baffled.  
  
"That was Ryo." Annie said, eyes going dull. "He's without any useful talents, so he's a Raiser. That means he makes money for the Ring. He's a stripper, though he manages to stay completely loyal to his partner, Jonothin."  
  
"Oh."  
  
She led him out, after pointing out the large crack she'd made crashing into one of the walls at about seventy miles an hours ('long story, I'll tell you later'), and telling him not to eat anything there, if he could avoid it.  
  
They went to the library next, and were quickly shooed out by a girl with one brown eye and one green, ankel-length red-black hair in thousands of little braids. She had been a black spaggetti-strap dress that reached just above her knees with a flowers wrapping around one side, and black cotton slippers with silver buckles and silver Chinese-looking symbols on them, and looked seriously pissed off about something.  
  
"What's up her ass?" Louis asked, glancing back at where the librarian was still glaring at them.  
  
"That was Meko." Annie answered, smirking. "Her girlfriend, Seazi, was probobly in there, and we interrupted them."  
  
She was about to continue, when two identical girls with dark, bloody red hair, and eyes the color of holly leaves came running at them, skidding to a stop before them. It was, of course, clear they were twins. They were even dressed alike, in black pants, black suede high-tops, and grey t-shirts with rainbow-colored letters he couldn't quite make out, for the loose cotton jackets they were wearing. The jackets seemed to be the only real difference. One wore purple, and the other red.  
  
"Hey, Annie!" they said, as one.  
  
"Have you seen Meko and Seazi?" the one in purple asked.  
  
"They're in the library, right?" inquired the other.  
  
"That /is/ the logical location, isn't it?"  
  
"I thought so."  
  
"Thanks." squealed as one.  
  
They bolted to the library, nearly breaking the door down in their hurry.  
  
"What the fuck was that?" Louis blinked owlishly at Annie.  
  
"Who, you mean." she answered. "That was Rainbow Gemini." At the look on his face, she rolled her eyes. "Yes, we refer to them as one person. Come on."  
  
They continued walking, and Louis kept glaring at Annie, sencing a story.  
  
Finnaly, she threw up her hands in defeat, and gave a huge, exagerated sigh. "Oh, fine!" she said. "If you /must/ have their indevidual names, they were Viper- in purple- and Vespera- in red. There are four sets of twins around here, and they're all known as the Geminis. No matter what their technical jobs are, they're also the Geminis, and have dutys as such, which I don't know about, because I'm not among them, and I really didn't feel like finding out.  
  
"Viper and Vespera are the Rainbow Geminis because they're from a village some-where in Ireland in which children are divided into groups of seven, and given colors of the rainbow, which they wear. We never found out the reasons behind it, because no one would say. Viper and Vespera kept wearing their colors.  
  
"Andromeda and Marz- you've met them, right?- are the Indemnis Gemini, because they're both completely asexual, and, by our standards, virgins. Indemnis is a very rough translation of 'innocent' in Latin, though we used an on-line dictionary we weren't sure how to operate, so I'm not so sure.  
  
"Anyway, the Opuesto Gemini is Oro and Plata. Opuesto means 'opposite' in Spanish. We used Spanish both because we were wary of Latin, and because their names mean 'gold' and 'silver' in Spanish. We aren't saying their opposites, we're just saying they're of opposite genders.  
  
"The last set are the Ulovlige Gemini. I can't tell you what that means, because I don't know. Roxie made it up, and all we know is that it's Danish for something, and we're forbidden to look it up. Their names are Jack and Sam. That's not the same Sam that's in love with Helios. Yu've probobly seen them before. They're completely identical. Ruby-red hair- and I mean /pure/ red- and eyes like emeralds on fire. They wear leather quite a bit, and look like sluts, and they aren't drag queens, even though they dress like it sometimes."  
  
Louis had, in fact, seen these twins before. They had struck him as beautifal, but like a forest fire is beautifal. They'd seemed dangerous, and something to be admired from a distance, lest you be burned.  
  
Annie, literally reading his thoughts as only a Home Dreamer can, "You must have seen them on one of their duty days. They're Watchers. All most Watchers do is, as the name implys, watch. Despite that, they do much more then watch. Much more. They're like the guardians of the Ring, or something. I guess what I'm trying to say is that they're assassins. And they're good at it. They aren't usually like that. Usually- eh- you'll see. Supposedly, there's one more Gemini, who leads them, but no one know who they are, because each of them have a third Shell**.  
  
"Anyway, come on. We've got alot of ground to cover."  
  
Next, they came to a large, metal doorway with two green panels in the middle.  
  
Annie lay her hands on the panels, and the door opened.  
  
As they stepped in side, Louis looked around in awe. It was, quite possibly, the coolest place he'd seen yet. They were in a large, cirular cave, with a round waterfall in the middle, pouring into deep, narrow (probobly as wide as his hand was long) streams that criss-crossed randomly around, then joined a stream- about twice as wide- that went around and the edge, as well as down the middles of three tunnels, leading off onto other parts of the cave.  
  
There were small tents, and stands scattered everywhere one or two on each little island formed by the streams, and small caves that had evidently been carved out of the wall on the other side of the stream. All the little caves, and tent doorways glowed with yellow lamplight. There were alot of people milling around, going in and out of tents and caves, and hopping over streams.  
  
"Last stop of the day. This is the grotto." Annie said. "Or rather, this is the stone center of the grotto. The underground is here. This is where the ancient folk, and their descendants live. It's also a center of trade, and center of all the other aspects of Olympian life."  
  
"Why are the Rings named after Olympian gods?" Louis asked, voicing the question that had been knawing gently at his brain for some time.  
  
"They originated with thirteen Greek high priests, and preistesses of the Gods who were natural-born. They created the rings." Annie explained.  
  
"Thirteen?"  
  
"According to myth, the Goddess of home and hearth, Hestia, gave up her seat in Olympus to Dionysis, god of wine, to prevent a dispute. Thirteen gods would have been back luck, of course."  
  
She looked around slowly, and Louis followed her gaze, and spotted the twins at the same time as her. They were dressed in loose black cargo pants, dark spaghetti strap green tank tops, brown leather sandles and black leather jackets. They were standing by a flower vender, and looked up when Annie called to them.  
  
"Jack! Sam!" she yelled. "Get over here, and assure the newbie you aren't /always/ homicidal maniacs!"  
  
One of them held up a hand with three fingers, then pointed to the other, smiling faintly.  
  
Annie grinned in response, and saluted, then rolled her eyes at Louis.  
  
The one talking to the vender handed what Louis supposed was money to him, and took a small bouquet of yellow tulips from him. He sank into a kind of half-kneel, and presented it to his twin with unnessicary flourish. The other smiled, and accepted him, then grabbed him, and thanked him with a sloppy, exaggerated kiss. Then, he linked arms with his brother, and led him over to Annie and Louis.  
  
They hopped nimbly over the stream (which, Louis realized for the first time, was running in front of the small indention that seemed to be the entrance to the grotto), and embraced Annie between them.  
  
"You promised you'd visit us." The one who'd purchased the flowers scolded, when they'd stepped back. "We were looking forward to "  
  
The other was looking at Louis, and said, "Finnaly! One with some sence of /syle/! I /love/ the curls!"  
  
Louis stared at them, as it took all his self-control not to scream in terror when they suddenly embraced him, as well.  
  
Then, as the twins stepped back. The one holding the flowers glanced at his watch, and gasped.  
  
"I'm sorry, Annie, dear." he said. "We /must/ dash."  
  
"It's time for our meeting with Roxie." added the other.  
  
Then, they were gone.  
  
"Are they alwasy like that?" inquired Louis.  
  
"Nah. They were just messing with your head. Usually, they're just evil, sarcastic, and too bloody cute for you to be mad at. Though they do stuff like the thing with the flowers alot."  
  
~  
  
"So what's the meeting about?" Sam asked, as they approached the confessional.  
  
"I dunno." Jack answered. "Something about the Cambio, I guess."  
  
"Damn. So soon after the newbie comes?" Sam sucked his lower lip into his mouth, and focused emerald eyes on the ceiling.  
  
"We'll have to ask Roxie." Jack answered. He removed his arm from his brothers, and slipped behind him.  
  
They were pressed very tight together as they entered the booth, though they were rather smaller then most of the others. They often thought the booth contracted and stretched depending on who the people using it were.  
  
Despite being so cramped together, they used as much grace entering the room beyond as they ever did.  
  
"I bid you a good morning, Ulovlige." Roxie said, smiling at them. "I assume you've guess we're here to discuss the Cambio. It takes place in three weeks, and I'm putting you in charge of the liquidation."  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
*'lost in the Black Land' is a term used which implys you're thinking hard about something negative.  
  
**A Shell is a physical body. Most vampires only have two- their natural form, the form they take in the outside world. 'He/She has a Third Shell' is also used as expression meaning someone has something to hide because spys, and Geminis no one knows about have more then two Shells.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the cast of Even Stevens, or a few people who belong to themselves.  
  
A/N: This took longer then I would have liked, simply because it's so bloody long. I kind of forgot about Annie giving Louis the tour, because I got caught up in the thing with Marz and Andromeda. Sorry there was no actual slash here. I had to get the subplots going. We'll be seeing more of Jack and Sam, of course. (By the way, Jack was the one buying flowers.) I'm thinking Twitty is finnaly going to tell Louis how he feels in the next chapter, and maybe some other stuff. 


	6. Revelations

Warnings: Slash, possible cursing.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the cast of Even Stevens, or any of the characters that belong to themselves.  
  
Chapter Six: Revelations  
  
Mizza wasn't stupid. She might be old (though that didn't mean much for her race), she might be sick, and as a result frail, but she was not, by any means, stupid. Her eyes, and ears worked just fine, and she knew how Twitty felt about Louis. One would have to be a blind, deaf, mentally retarded, quadraplegdic not to. Or, she mused, one would have to be a blind, deaf, mentally retarded quardaplegdic or Louis, not to, as the boy clearly had no idea of his friends affections.  
  
She smiled to herself, and chanced a glance at the boy. He was so innocent, she realized, saddened by the sudden shift in her thought. But, weren't they all, until they made their first kill? Even Ulovlige had been innocent. They still were, of course. It was admirable, she knew. Though even Sam, who allowed his other half to do the deed whenever possible, had made at least as many kills as Mizza, who was at least a hundred years older then him, the twins had both managed to maintain some of their old innocence. Mizza envied then, for that, though she knew there was nothing she could have done to make herself do the same.  
  
Ulovlige had done so because they had eachother, and, through one-another, they had kept their inner children alive, because the children still had playmates. Twitty was still innocent to some extent, she thought, though she wasn't sure exactly how it was possible. She hoped that he and Louis could help eachother in keeping the innocence that had made them blend with the humans.  
  
"Mizza?" Louis suddenly said, snapping her out of her thoughts. "What did I do to upset Twitty?"  
  
"I can't tell you that, child." she said, gently. "I think you had better ask him, if you really want to know. But he'll tell you when he's ready, whether you ask, or not."  
  
"Mizza?" he said, agein, after a pause.  
  
"I'm still here." He could hear her smile. "You don't need to say my name every time you want to say something."  
  
"Mizza, I think I'm in love with him."  
  
She didn't answer. When he looked at her, she had rolled over on her side to hide her smile.  
  
~  
  
The day before, while returning to the infirmary with Annie, he'd been a bit disturbed. They had been talking about Twitty, and she had mentioned he'd been looking quite good recently*. He had found his mind agreeing with her, and gone silent as he quietly obsessed over the thought.  
  
By the time he'd arrived at his bed, he'd realized it was not the first time such thoughts had crossed his mind, and he'd realized he and Twitty were to be partners. It had never struck him until then, but all the people who worked together were in love, aside from the Gemini.  
  
And hadn't Andromeda, Mizza, and Roxie said it had to be 'meant' for the Change to take place? Meant. Meant to be? Had one of them used those words?  
  
Louis sighed softly, determined to figure this out. He had, of course, always known he loved Twitty. He was his best friend. Of /course/ he loved him. He was his best friend, and had been forever- that's what it felt like, anyway. But did he love him like that? It was entirely possible, but he wasn't sure.  
  
"Mizza?" he said.  
  
"You sound troubled, child." she replied, quietly.  
  
He smiled faintly. He liked it when Mizza called him 'child'. "I am." he said. "When you said I couldn't have been changed unless I were 'meant', what did you mean?" He paused breifly. When she didn't answer, he added, "Meant for what?"  
  
"Meant to be one of us." she said, quietly, though in a curiously gaurded voice that implied she knew more then was saying.  
  
Louis chewed on his lower lip. Experience told him that if one of them (he knew he was one of them, now, but it didn't really feel like it- they were all so /comfortable/ together) knew something, and they didn't tell you the first time you asked, you weren't going to find out for a long time, if ever.  
  
Suddenly, she added, so softly and quickly he almost didn't hear her, "And meant to stay with your partner forever."  
  
Louis didn't answer, knowing he wasn't supposed to.  
  
Mizza smiled faintly, knowing he was catching on.  
  
~  
  
Roxie came in the next day, looking down-cast. She stopped at the foot of Mizzas bed, and said, "There's a meeting in a few hours. Ulovlige will be here to get you, and help you get ready, soon." She looked at Louis. "Come on. You need to get ready, too- have you listened to the records?"  
  
Louis blinked at her. Roxie sighed, irritably.  
  
"I'm going to be an insufferable jerk for at least a few hours." she said. "I had a bad night. Come on."  
  
As Louis rose, Roxie continued. "You'll have to have heard /some/ of the records- maybe even all of a couple." she said. "They play them incessantly over the TS." She pointed upwards. There was, of course, music playing, coming from nowhere in particular. "Naturally, they insist upon playing the ones are least suspicious, in case a human wanders in, or something."  
  
She turned on her heel, and walked out. She didn't look back to see if Louis was following. After a moment, he did.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
*She was lying, to make him think about it. Even if she /did/ like guys, Twitty's not her type.  
  
A/N: This chapter is to short, nothing really happens, and nothing happens that I said was going to. That happens in the next chapter. I needed to post this, because I have something to say. In the next chapter, Tawny is going to show up breifly, and nothing good will happen to her. Just a warning, and if you don't heed it, that's your business. Don't take it as an attack on her- personally, I have nothing ageinst her, and that won't be the end of her. Trust me. 


	7. Over The River

Rating: PG-13  
  
Warnings: Character not-quite-death, slash, cursing,   
  
Chapter Seven: Over The River  
  
Twitty didn't even look at Louis as he led him down the street, to the corner he'd parked his standard issue red Volkswagon Bug convertable. Indemnis followed a few yards behind them, arms linked, but Twitty barely knew they were there.  
  
He had spent to much time with humans, and he knew it. As a Dionysian Vampire (or any Vampire) he was supposed to follow his emotions blindly, and without shame. It was simply their way to do so, and respect it when others did so. The Ulovlige was a prime example, though he didn't feel like contemplating them, today.  
  
He knocked a lock of lavender hair out of his eyes irritably. He hadn't bothered with Second Shell today, as he no longer had to worry about his human persona, now that his mission here was finished. He was much more comfortable in his natural form, anyway, and it was releif after having spent so much time in his Second Shell for so long.  
  
But, he still felt to human. It was like a disease, humanity. It made him act so very differently then he would, normally. But, of course, he couldn't act like he did normally in their world, lest he be found out. And it /was/ their world, after all. The Vampires might be immortal, their souls might hold the key to the most terrible, wonderful, incredible, horribly beautifal Magick in the galaxy, but they were, when it came down it, few, while the humans were many.  
  
He let out a low growl, and picked up his pace.  
  
Behind him, Louis' eyes widened, and he bit his lip. Marz took Andromedas hand, and twined their fingers together, then brought her knuckles to his lips. His sister thanked him silently, and drifted closer, until their hips were almost touching.  
  
~  
  
As Ulovlige helped Mizza into the front passenger seat of their standard-issue car, Jack caught Sams eye suddenly. His eyes flickered past his brother, and he grinned broadly.  
  
Sam looked over his shoulder, and his eyes lit up.  
  
"Hell, yeah." he hissed, and he closed the door.  
  
Mizza glanced at the pair of them, then followed their gaze. A pretty girl with dark hair she recognized from one of the times she'd checked on Twitty was walking down the sidewalk across the street. She glared at them both breifly, but didn't say anything.  
  
Jack reached out, and grabbed Sams wrist, pulling his willing twin with him as he approached the girl. They both switched on their glamour as high as it would go- even the straightest of men had found themselves enthralled with them then they were like this.  
  
~  
  
Tawny was dragging down the street, not going anywhere in particular, when she saw them. They were twins, that much was readily apparent, as was their almost ethereal beauty. At first, she wasn't quite sure if they were even male.  
  
Their hair, the color of rich red wine when you hold the glass to the sun, fell nearly to their shoulders. A light breeze swept down the street, and through the silken strands, like fingers, mussing it gently.  
  
Their eyes she, like Annie, compared to emeralds with hearts of flame, shone with something she couldn't quite discribe, but attracted her to them in a way she'd never felt when first sighting someone, however beautifal they may be.  
  
Their features were delicate, and fair, and their bodys were of a little below average height, and better musceled then she generally liked her men- most of her love interests had been competetors for the Ichabod Crane Body Building award.  
  
They were both dressed in tight black leather bell-bottoms, white tank tops with purple cockroaches dancing on them, and black leather vests that had once been jackets- their sleeves had been ripped off.  
  
When they reached her, the one who had been leading the other by the wrist slipped his hand into the others, and grinned at her, showing off even, white teeth that she was so blinded by she didn't notice they were rather sharper then was natural.  
  
"I'm Jack." he said. "This is my brother Sam. We've seen you around town, and we were wondering if you'd like to come hang out with us in our van for a while."  
  
Tawny, defenceless ageinst their glamour, and weak with the crippleing sence of loss she'd been experiences for reasons she didn't know, smiled weakly. "Okay." she said, softly. "I'm Tawny."  
  
Sam smiled to match Jacks. "We know." he didn't quite lie.  
  
~  
  
Mizza watched as they led that girl, Tawny, off, down the street to where their other standard-issue car- a black two-seat van (unlike the Bug, you could choose black, off yellow-tan, dark blue, dark green, or dark red)- had suddenly appeared.  
  
Though Tawnys back was to her, she could see her clearly. She reminded her so much of the other girl Ulovlige had taken as their own, so long ago. Long, blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and a lovely tan. She's worn the long, fluffy skirts, and bonnets of her time, and the Twins had gone to her in guise of rich noblemen.  
  
There was no physical resembalence- none at all, but she was identical, all the same.  
  
The same bewitched light shone in her eyes.  
  
~  
  
Twitty sat on the picnic table, watching the gathering that used the basketball court as a dancefloor, rather then joining in. He was waiting for Ulovlige. There was something keeping them, and he had a sinking feeling he should know what.  
  
Louis had been pulled right into the thick of the dance by Indemnis and Rainbow the moment they got there, and Twitty had politly rejected their invitation to join them. It had been a bad business, refusing a dance, and there had been a look in Vipers eye that suggested she wanted to protest. Andromeda had caught her eye for a moment, though, and she'd soon forgotten when her twin grabbed her wrist in one hand, and Louis' in another, and Marz did the same with the startled newbies other hand, and his own twin.  
  
His eyes darted back and forth quickly. It was growing dark, and the night was hot- unnaturally hot, made so by the burning energys of so many of his kind slowly loosing control, working themselves into a near-demonic frenzy, as they gave themselves over completely to the horrible eighties music they all Vampires lived for. The same music that they would, now and always, throw themselves into so fully it made his head spin, and his body feel light, though he was well away from it all.  
  
Meetings were more celebrations of being alive, young, and beautifal then meetings, up until Roxie called all to order. He closed his eyes, and focused on Louis. He could feel the delicious horror, bewilderment, and drunken joy welling up, and gaining an outlet through the dance Gemini led him in. At some point, Oro and Plata- Opuesto- had appeared, drawn to the sycronized pulse of their fellow Twins.  
  
But, still no Ulovlige.  
  
Ulovlige. He knew what it meant. Mizza had told him the meaning of the Danish word long ago. He supposed it made a sort of cosmic sence, in that it described their actions, reactions, and their very existance as well as any word, though not quite.  
  
There /was/ no word to define SamnJack, JacknSam. They simply were. More then one person, not quite two, in the spirit of Gemini, but there was something else. They were a deity more then an entity, a race all their own. They had been described by more then one as the soul of the Gemini, just as was Kaio the soul of Libra. An embodiment of their sign, their virtue, yet still defying even that definition.  
  
They had an element of innocence that made their name- Ulovlige- slightly off in its description. This element also made it completely impossible to hate them, whatever the circumstance, whatever they did. You could hate what they did, you could hate what they said, you could hate their closeness, and their awful, wonderful perfection, but you could never hate them.  
  
Ulovlige was perfect. Twitty knew it, they knew it, and anyone who'd ever been in contact with them knew it, though that perfection was also their sin, their imperfection, and would someday be their downfall, if they let it.  
  
"Hey, Twits." Roxie said, as she slid onto the table beside him. She hadn't been dancing either, it seemed.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"Nothin`. How's Louis?"  
  
"As well as can be expected. I left him to Gemini."  
  
"All of them?"  
  
"All that are here. Where's Ulovlige?"  
  
"Twitty, I lied when I said there was nothing. They kind of went on the hunt."  
  
"Shit." he said, after a moment. "They went after Tawny?"  
  
"Yeah." Roxie replied.  
  
Twitty sighed. "I'll have to tell Louis. I don't really care, but he will."  
  
"You don't care?"  
  
"Less then you did when I killed Marcie."  
  
Roxie flinched, and glared at him. "I'd appreciate it if you never mentioned that agein, Mr. Preener."  
  
"I haven't gone by Preener in years." Twitty replied. "Are you going to do anything about it? Can you?"  
  
"I can Change her." Roxie answered. "Would you want that? I mean, she still wouldn't have her memorys, or anything, and it might fuck up and slow down your Bond. If you mean can I punish Ulovlige, no. Your mission is finished- she was fair game."  
  
"Praise the Goddess."  
  
"This is a meeting, not a revel. No one's died, yet. You're mate chose a shitty place to live."  
  
"He's not my mate, yet."  
  
"He will be, soon enough."  
  
Twitty shrugged, and leaned back on his elbows, staring at the darkening sky.  
  
"I hope so. You know how much I love him, Roxie."  
  
She lay one hand on his shoulder, and nodded slowly. "Yeah. I know. I'm one of the few people who can."  
  
~  
  
Jack hurried back to the Bug, casting quick glances over his shoulder as he did. Sam had carried Tawny's limp form into a near-by alley, and he was probobly casting some random mugging injurys onto her by now, if he'd found all her cash. The cash they would keep for the Ring, as was required after an attack.  
  
Tawny would be find. He had only taken a little blood- just enough to take the edge off. It was Sam's part he was worried about. Sam wasn't the same sort of Vampire as most of them. He took energy, rather then anything tangible. He sometimes went over-board, because he felt so guilty about it he didn't feed on fresh supply much. Illegal though the practice was, sometimes the only thing that kept him alive was feeding off Jack, when they were alone together.  
  
Jack hopped into the front seat, just as Sam came out of the alley, looking refreshed, but guilty.  
  
Jack suddenly remembered something Ryo had asked them, once.  
  
~"Do you ever get tired of eachother?" he inquired.  
  
"Who get tired of who?" Jack asked.  
  
"Us and other people?" Sam suggested.  
  
"If that's what you mean, yes." Jack said "We and other people get tired of eachother alot."  
  
"When it happens, we go to our room to be alone for a while." Sam concluded.  
  
"Never mind." He didn't get it.~  
  
It had been a strange conversation, and his question had genuinly perplexed them. Of course they never got tired of eachother. They couldn't. And, even if they could, if wouldn't matter. It was like getting tired of yourself. To Gemini, especially Dionysian Gemini, such a thing would /be/ getting tired of themselves.  
  
It had never occured to either of them that they were more then one person- that they could have different experiences, different lives- different deaths. The concept was inconceivable, so they didn't even bother to dwell on it.  
  
Sam leapt nimbly into the car, his guilt forgotten before he got in, and sprawled elegantly across the back seat. He ran his fingers through his hair, then murmered, "I hope I didn't over-do it."  
  
"Ah, love, you worry to much." Jack answered, as he started the Bug. "She'll be fine. You left the mug-marks, right?"  
  
"What do you think took me so long? It's an art form."  
  
"So are many things."  
  
"Many things we aren't very talented at."  
  
Mizza sighed softly, but didn't speak.  
  
Sam cocked a perfect eyebrow at the back of her head, holding his silence, as well. Glamour, or not, Ulovlige was beautifal.  
  
Night was falling, warm, and heavy, like a star-spangled quilt, as Jack turned the car in the direction of the park, and they were more then half-way there when he finnaly spoke agein.  
  
"Hey, Miz?" he began. "Where's the Shift to?"  
  
"I'm not sure." the elder replied. "I've heard rumblings of somewhere around Cape Horn, but I really don't know."  
  
"Cape Horn?" Sam asked.  
  
"Can't say I'm surprised." Jack replied.  
  
"Technically, you could."  
  
"I'd be lying."  
  
~  
  
When the last red Bug finnaly pulled into a parking space among the others, Louis had joined Twitty and Roxie on the table. The three watched as Sam leapt lightly out of the back seat, and opened the door for Mizza, who smiled faintly at him.  
  
Jack materialized at his twins side, and held his hand out to her. She took it, and accepted his help up, even though she didn't need it.  
  
Ulovlige linked arms, then, and followed her to the table. Mizza slid onto the bench behind and between Roxie and Twitty, and said, "Why don't you dance, Roxie? If you aren't careful, before you know it you'll be as old as me, and you'll have missed your chance."  
  
"I know, Miz." Roxie answered. "I also know you're not that old. You're just posing, cause` you're wise, and things."  
  
"Wise and things?" Mizza asked, smiling. "Wiser then some."  
  
"Of course you are." Jack said, dropped gracefully onto the table on Roxies other side. Sam scowled at him, having no place to sit himself, but didn't mean it.  
  
"Wiser then us, I suppose." he said, then made a small noise of surprise when his twin wrapped his arms around his waist, and pulled him into his lap.  
  
"Not difficult." Twitty said, with a smirk. He watched as Jack began to play with his glaring (but not protesting in the slightest) twins hair. "I'm wiser then you two at this point. My mission might be over, but you know the respect laws."  
  
"They couldn't conform if they tried." Mizza said. "And you can't punish violations of respect laws. You can sulk, and give them verbal thrashings, but there aren't any actual punishments."  
  
Roxie interrupted whatever Twitty, or Ulovlige might have said in response by hopping to her feet, and clapping twice.  
  
Everyone on the basketball court dance floor dropped where they were, and looked at her expectantly.  
  
"The Shift will be in roughly three weeks." she said. "We're off to Cape Horn. Or somewhere around there. We're improvising. We're packing it in and moving, and you need to get all your shit together /now/, as liquidation takes about two weeks. Speaking of which, if you're interested in helping with liquidation- Gemini, you don't have any choice- I've put Ulovlige in charge of that.  
  
"Any questions?"  
  
"It's this a bit abrubt?" Viper asked.  
  
"I thought we were staying a while longer." Vespera added.  
  
"Twitty's not done with his mission, is he?"  
  
"I thought the Bond had to be complete."  
  
"That's what I thought, too."  
  
Roxie sighed. "The mission statement, if you read it, just said he had to have been Changed. Nowhere did it say he had to like it, tolerate it, or be in love with the person who Changed him."  
  
Twitty heard Louis' sharp intake of breath, and wished Roxie hadn't been so blunt- up until this point, he had relied heavily on the fact Louis knew next to nothing the Ring, and how things worked. Fuck.  
  
"Any other questions?"  
  
"Once agein." Marz began.  
  
"Isn't this a little abrubt?" Andromeda finished.  
  
Roxie shrugged. "I know, generally, it's my decision." she said. "But I got word from higher up that we're needed over there."  
  
"Higher up?" Opuesto asked.  
  
"Hermes showed up from Upper Olympia about three days ago. There's something Silver brewing in south Australia, and we've been assigned to the Cape Horn area."  
  
At the word 'silver' everyone congregated flinched, except Louis, and Gemini. The newbie looked around in bewilderment, while Gemini smiled, and clutched their other halfs hand.  
  
"That doesn't mean we're going to be kicking any ass, Gemini." Roxie said, smiling faintly. "I'll put in to be on the front lines, but I'm guessing the Aresians, and maybe even the Athenians will get there first."  
  
"Not if Marxi gets her way, Athenisia won't." Mizza said. "She'd rather kill herself then let them go to the front lines."  
  
"Ooh, I hope so!" Sam said, nearly vibrating where he sat. He was in danger of falling over, despite the arms identical to his own, and shaking just as badly, that were wound around his waist.  
  
Roxie rolled her eyes good-naturedly, and said, "Other then that, no one is to bother Twitty with anything until we settle agein. And, the newbie is moving to the concubine chamber in the Inners wing after said settlement, as well. That's all, really, so let's head home. Indemnis, Rainbow, Opuesto, you're coming with me. We have some things to discuss."  
  
~  
  
Louis didn't quite remember how he managed to get in the car after that. He was kind of in shock.  
  
He looked over at Twitty slowly, and gave voice to the only clear thought he had had sence Roxie had finnally stated what the Bond meant.  
  
"Is it true?" he asked, his voice cracking the glass silence that had settled over the car, it's echo shattering it entirely.  
  
Twitty flinched. He wanted to start the car, but he couldn't. He felt as if he were paralyzed. He heard himself saying, "I suppose so. I'm in love with you, Louis." even though he knew he hadn't told himself to form the words.  
  
He looked at Louis, knowing he wasn't going to answer. The other boy looked at Twitty. He blinked slowly, and spoke. He didn't exactly reply to Twittys words, instead changing the subject completely.  
  
"How come none of the twins have romantic relationships with anyone?" he asked.  
  
"They don't need them." the lavender-haired one answered. "They have eachother, so they don't need anyone else."  
  
Louis blinked agein. "Okay." he said.  
  
To Be Continued......  
  
A/N: This took longer then expected, I'm afraid, and I liked this chapter. Next, Rainbow and Indemnis will do some snooping, and watch the after-math of Tawny's attack, and Louis will talk to Ulovlige. The Shift will come in the chapter after that.  
  
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to the wonderful Ben Murray, who let me hug him, agreed to give that painting to the Wiggles, didn't seem to think me and Noel were insane when we met him after the concert, and won't care at all. 


	8. Waiting

Rating: PG-13  
  
Warnings: Not-quite-character death, slash, might be cursing, not sure.  
  
Chapter Eight: Waiting  
  
Sam and Jack skipped along the hall, tword the grotto, swinging the hands with finger wound together, laughing just for the joy of laughing. They were happy. Very happy. It was always such fun to be in charge of the liquidation of the temporary base, in this case the bar Twitty had started it all for Louis in.  
  
When the newbie called after them, Jack stopped abrubtly, and swung Sam around, releasing his hand, and catching him around the waist in the same instant. They both twirled around once, with flourish, then Jack dipped his twin, and gave him the same dramatic kiss Louis had become accustomed to in a surprisingly short amount of time.  
  
When Jack finnaly pulled back, Sam looked breathless, and giddy, and allowed his twin to keep holding onto him, as he did only about a quarter of the time.  
  
"What's up, newbie?" Jack asked, grinning at Louis like a cat who'd just gotten the canary.  
  
Louis, completely unphased by anything Ulovlige might do, by this time, went straight (no pun intended) into his inquiry. "How do you know when you're in love with someone?" he asked.  
  
Let it be known that Louis had no possible clue why he was asking a Gemini this, as they don't fall in love. Maybe they just seemed most likely to give him any sort of answer at all. Vampires were way to fond of mysterious silence, and speaking in obscure riddles, generally in forein, or ancient, half-, or all-forgotten dialects.  
  
"You don't." Sam replied, instantly.  
  
"No until you kiss the person, anyway." Jack added.  
  
"After that, you just feel it."  
  
"It's like a disease."  
  
"It tears you apart from the inside."  
  
"At the same time it's the only thing that-"  
  
"Keeps you warm at night-"  
  
"-whether their around, or not-"  
  
"-it makes life worth living-"  
  
"-and makes problems lose their significance."  
  
Louis looked at them carefully. He was used to their switching off when they talked- it was easy to get used to it, once the novelty wore off. It was just twin speak. "I've never kissed him." he said.  
  
Jack started to say something, but Sam rammed an elbow gently into his stomach. "I think matters of the heart are /my/ forte`, brother, dear." he said, sweetly. Jack grinned, as his twin, smirking, adressed Louis.  
  
"You don't need to, just yet." he said. "If you're sure- or mostly sure, anyway, it's hard to be sure of anything- all you need to do is let him. Don't make sappy, dramatic love proclaimations. Nobody takes them seriously. That's just not how things are done here. And, anyway, that's our job." He nudged Jack with his elbow, agein. "You know he's in love with you, and he knows you know, so all you have to do is keep acting the way you always do- be a bit more physical about it- and he'll know. He'll just /know/."  
  
Andromeda held tight to Marz's hand as she led him quickly down the narrow alley-way. Marz glanced back at Rainbow, making sure they were still there, then looked ahead. Andromeda dropped his hand after a moment, and quickly climbed a rusted ladder, to the top of the low building.  
  
"Come on, Rainbow!" Andromeda hissed, pulling her twin up after her. "Hurry!"  
  
Viper came first, and helped Vespera up behind her, then the Gemini bolted across the roof. They leapt across two narrow alleys, landing without missing a step, onto the parallel roof-tops, until Andromeda skidded to a stop at a waist-length ledge on the edge of the third roof, and leaned over at a ninty-degree angle to her hair (unbound, today) fell in an electric purple waterfall below her.  
  
Marz, and Rainbow crashed into the wall on either side of her, and ended up in silimar positions. None of them noticed the pain in their abdomens. They were just in time.  
  
As Ren Stevens passed the alleyway the Gemini looked down on, she 'just happened' to look in, courtesy of a certain Seer-Warper named Kassandra, while she was on her day off from screwing around with the newbie's head.  
  
Gemini couldn't hear what she said, but Ren was at Tawnys side so quickly she seemed to teleport, though they knew she didn't. She reached into her pocket, and produced a lavender cell-phone, on which she swiftly dialed 911. Once she'd made her report, she checked the girls pulse, then shifted her weight nervously for what must have seemed to be an eternity, but was really only a few minutes, until the ambulance arrived.  
  
As Tawny was loaded into the ambulance, Rainbow grinned evilly at one-another. It was their week off, and they, and the other Gemini, if they wanted, could easly have fun with this.  
  
Twitty was nervous. When he was nervous, he did some very stupid things. Once he had bought the entirety of a flower stand, plucked all the petals, one by one, and piled them up, then lain naked on the pile until his nerves went away, several weeks later, and he was just grumpy.  
  
As a precautionary measure ageinst such ill-advised actions, he decided to barricade himself in his chambers until he felt better.  
  
This was where Ryo found him, sitting, rocking back and forth, in the middle of his bed, eyes closed, meditating, or dead. Vampires, expecially Dionysian Vampires, had the unique ability to shut down bodily functions, and go on with pre-programmed actions until an also pre-programmed date, and time, when they came back to themselves, with no memory of what happened in the time they were deceased.  
  
Ryo threw himself onto the cloud-soft bed in front of him, and propped himself up on his elbows, watching the lavender-haired one.  
  
Ryo was dressed more conservatively them usual (though that's not saying much, as I'm sure any readers I still have have guessed) in black cut-offs, and a navy blue muscle shirt that showed off muscles he didn't have effectivly.  
  
"What're you doing here?" Twitty asked, after a long moment of silence.  
  
"Gaia's worried, love." Ryo replied. "You're brooding."  
  
"Maybe. What business is it of hers? Or yours?"  
  
"She's your friend, and I'm as much in love with her as I can be."  
  
"Philophobe."  
  
"Perhaps."  
  
"I thought Jonothin was your partner."  
  
"And Gaia and Nothing are our Projectiles."  
  
Twitty sighed. "You know how much I hate that term." he said, sadly. "It's not even used properly. Only those weak enough to need more then their soulmate need Projectiles."  
  
"Then, I suppose we're weak." Ryo replied, gently.  
  
"You know thats not what I meant." the lavender-haired boy told him. "You don't need Projectiles you only like them."  
  
"Maybe." The other said, shrugging. "Wanna come hunt with us?"  
  
"Where?"  
  
"We were thinking of warping to Hallucination to pick up Nixa and Gally. They said they'd found a great place outside of town."  
  
"Nixa and Gally?" Twittys eyes finnaly opened, and fixed on Ryo questioningly. "But, aren't they...?"  
  
"From Zeusasia." Ryo confirmed. "They settled over there a couple years ago- you were in the middle of your mission."  
  
"Cool." Twitty said.  
  
"Does that mean you'll come with us?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
To Be Continued....  
  
AN: Sorry this took so long. Lotsa shit going on over here, even without including my breif hospitalization. Thanks to everyone who reveiwed, especially animenut2003. I had honestly forgotten about this story, until I checked my e-mail, and saw a notification of your reveiw.  
  
Dedication: To all my reveiwers- I've never gotten nothing but more or less positive reveiws on a story before. Too cool. And to Jack and Farrow- I REALLY hope you don't get your hair cut. I like you better now then I did last year. Just thought I'd say it, even though you'll never read this. (I hope. That would be kind of creepy.) 


End file.
